With a new 5* hotel on the horizon, a new destination for food, beer and music lovers, as well as the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the long-awaited return of Gromit Unleashed 3 trail, iconic cultural events and festivals, 2025 is set to be a bumper year for Bristol!
New accommodation and openings
Hotel Gotham Bristol - NEW 5* Hotel
Autumn 2025
Hotel Gotham Bristol is presented as a plush hotel, with a fabulous drinking and dining venue. It aims to be an escape, a multisensory experience, and above all, a place to have fun. Set to open in Autumn 2025, the historic, listed and incredibly imposing Guildhall will be transformed into a stunning new 5* hotel. It has been closed since 2010 but will be brought back to life to contribute fully to Bristol’s visitor scene and nightlife. The grand old building will consist of 75 bedrooms, a restaurant, spa and even a rooftop terrace bar. Described by the Guardian as ‘glitzy, ambitious, unapologetically opulent’ and offering ‘pizazz and pampering’, Bespoke Hotels cannot wait to bring the Gotham brand to Bristol.
https://www.hotelgotham.co.uk/locations
BOXHALL - NEW food, beer and music hall
2025 date tbc
From the creators of BOXPARK in London, BOXHALL is a new and hotly anticipated premium food and beverage-led concept with a modern food hall structure set to open on Bristol’s waterfront in 2025, date tbc. With the focus on food, beer and music, the high-quality product ranges will be carefully curated, authentic cuisine from local, independent street food traders and restaurant operators in Bristol. BOXHALL will be spearheaded by its Food Ambassador and renowned local chef, Josh Eggleton.
Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm – redevelopments
Spring 2025
Since celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm has announced plans for its ambitious Project Carnivora, which will see the lion pride’s habitat transformed and increased, as well as a brand new habitat for tigers, Arctic foxes and vultures. The project which focuses on welfare, conservation as well as enhanced visitor experience and accessibility, will start with phase one, the re-developed lion habitat, opening spring 2025.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/listing/noahs-ark-zoo-farm/2541101/
Events in and around Bristol in 2025
Bristol Light Festival - FREE EVENT
31 January – 9 February 2025
Bristol’s award-winning winter festival is set to return February 2025 with a stunning interactive and captivating light installation trail. The 2024 event saw the world premiere of an interstellar astronaut installation called Ascendance by Davy and Kristin McGuire, and the astounding bubble light and sound installation Evanescent by Atelier Sisu, helping to cement the festival as a firm favourite and bringing in 275,000 visitors to experience the vibrant, colourful Bristol in the middle of winter.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/bristollightfestival
Gromit Unleashed 3 – FREE TRAIL
30 June – 31 August 2025
The much-loved Gromit Unleashed 3 trail is back in Bristol in summer 2025, with a dazzling movie magic theme, celebrating the world of storytelling and film. Bristol-based Aardman and The Grand Appeal will be raising money for Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital through the trail which will feature everyone’s favourite dog Gromit, his inventor human, Wallace, the mischievous penguin Feather’s McGraw and a new character, Norbot, the new ‘smart gnome’ from the latest Aardman film, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. The last Gromit Unleashed Trail attracted more than 1.2 million visitors to Bristol, so expectations are high for the 2025 trail to draw in even more.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/event/gromit-unleashed-3/337039301/
Bristol Harbour Festival – FREE EVENT
18-20 July 2025
Bristol’s prime, maritime free event, Bristol Harbour Festival, attracts 250,000 visitors and is set to return in July 2025 (date tbc) with its popular mix of world-class circus and on-water activities, music, family entertainment, food stalls and of course, the many stunning ships which sail into the harbour.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/whats-on/bristol-harbour-festival-p2369253
Feast On – Food Festival
24-27 July 2025
After a hugely successful inaugural event in summer 2024, Feast On is coming back in July 2025 where you can experience the best of Bristol's top restaurants and chefs. As well as the food and drink stalls and banqueting area, there will be cooking demos, panel discussions and entertainment.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/event/feast-on/347726301/
Bristol International Balloon Fiesta – FREE EVENT
8-10 August 2025
Europe’s largest hot air balloon event will once again stun visitors with its mass ascents when over 100 hot air balloons take off and fly over Bristol at dawn and dusk, as well as the popular Night Glows on Friday and Saturday nights. The free-to-visit 3-day fiesta also has daytime aerial displays, fairground rides, entertainment, music, and many food stalls, too.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/whats-on/bristol-international-balloon-fiesta-p1987343
Women’s Rugby World Cup at Ashton Gate Stadium
13-20 September 2025
Bristol’s Ashton Gate stadium will host both semi-finals and two quarter-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, as the biggest-ever celebration of women’s rugby comes to England. The quarter finals will take place on the weekend of September 13 and the semi-finals on the weekend of September 19, with the Red Roses guarnateed to play their quarterfinal match at Ashton Gate should they progress!
https://visitbristol.co.uk/event/womens-rugby-world-cup-2025-at-ashton-gate/354396301/
New tours and activities
Aerospace Bristol is working on special plans to offer a new behind-the-scenes tour from spring 2025 that will provide access to new spaces and uncover fascinating objects and stories that have previously been hidden from view, with more exciting details to be shared soon. Food Tours of Bristol has recently launched a new tour of Bedminster’s thriving scene, the North Street Food tour, featuring curated tastings at seven stop offs including COR, Yafo and Zara’s Chocolates. Two new immersive 18-hole mini golf courses open in December 2024 at Treetop Golf in Cabot Circus with Tropical Trail and Ancient Explorer themes. The hugely successful GOOD: Stories in Food tours with its focus on sustainability and championing independents are set to introduce some new tours and experiences in 2025 including a self-guided drinks tours, Somerset cider and cheese tour and Flavours of the West Country tour.
Set Jetting in Bristol in 2025
With Bristol being a UNESCO City of Film, as well as the famous and highly regarded The Bottle Yard Studios, the colourful streets and historic settings in Bristol are often used in high profile films and TV shows thanks to the dedicated Bristol Film Office that provides support for location filming.
In 2025, we can expect to see Bristol and the region feature in a number of hotly-anticipated productions including 28 Years Later, the third film in the series written and directed by Danny Boyle and starring Aaron Talyor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Cillian Murphy, partly filmed south of Bristol; The Forsyte Saga, a new reimagining of John Galsworthy's novels for PBS Masterpiece starring a stellar ensemble cast including Francesca Annis, Jack Davenport, Millie Gibson and Eleanor Tomlinson; and The Seven Dials Mystery, a Netflix adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic production series filmed partly in Bristol likely due out in 2025 (tbc) with Mia McKenna Bruce leading the cast that also features Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman. Bristol is one of the key filming locations for Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock, due out on Amazon Prime in 2025, and the prestigious Berkeley Castle – just north of Bristol - is featured in Wolf Hall on BBC iPlayer.
Since October 2024, Rivals, a Disney+ series based on the celebrated novel by Dame Jilly Cooper and starring David Tennant, Danny Dyer, Aidan Turner and Emily Atack depicting the shocking antics of the social elite of 1980s England has been proving hugely popular. The series was predominantly filmed in and around Bristol and filming for series 2 has already been confirmed. See Visit Bristol's guide to having a Rivals-inspired weekend in Bristol including filming locations and retro experiences and then watch this Rivals reel, to see the fun play out!
For visitors to the city, there are numerous self-guided filming locations maps created by Bristol Film Office and Visit Bristol of shows including comedy thriller The Outlaws, Sherlock, Doctor Who and Skins (which celebrates its 18-year anniversary in 2025), among others.
2025 also sees two significant anniversaries for screen festivals in Bristol. Encounters Film Festival (24-28 September 2025) celebrates 30 years of championing fresh and exciting new creators in filmmaking as the UK’s leading short film, animation and virtual reality festival; and Cinema Rediscovered (23-27 July 2025) marks its 10-year anniversary of the festival dedicated to rediscovery and revival of great films.
Gig Tripping in Bristol 2025
Bristol has a reputation for its stellar music scene; from gigs at grass roots venues such as The Fleece, The Louisiana as well as the recently refurbished Bristol Beacon, to larger-scale events and festivals, Bristol’s live music offering is second-to-none. The newly-opened The Prospect Building is now the city’s largest capacity music and cultural space, becoming hugely popular with music-lovers. While headliners and dates are yet to be confirmed for many events, we are expecting Love Saves the Day to return in May to Ashton Court Estate with its usual mix of headline electronic, dance and emerging artists. Bristol Sounds will bring us Supergrass, Kaiser Chiefs, Texas and Olly Murs with others from 25-29 June to play against the backdrop of the iconic Bristol Harbourside. Festival in a day, Ashton Gate Presents BS3, will return to the namesake’s Stadium on 21 June after a brilliant first year in 2024. Plans are underway for an epic Make Music Day, also on 21 June (more details to come). Bristol Pride Day has been announced as taking place on 12 July 2025 on The Downs, with the wider event and celebrations taking place from 28 June. There is huge excitement for a new two-day event in city centre, IDLES at Queen Square on 1-2 August when Bristol’s own punk heroes IDLES will have a Block Party and play their only gigs of 2025. FORWARDS Festival is expected to return to The Downs at the end of summer to round off the festival season. Valley Fest is taking a fallow year in 2025 but looking further ahead we are expecting to hear updates on the hotly anticipated YTL Arena which is set to be the UK’s 4th largest arena, built on the northern outskirts of Bristol (date tbc).
Hotel Refurbishments
Hotel du Vin Bristol City Centre - Hotel refurbishment
Winter 2024
Former 18th century sugar warehouse and now one of Bristol’s most luxurious boutique hotels is undergoing a £900,000 refurbishment, due to finish at the end of 2024, ready for 2025. Hotel du Vin Bristol City Centre has 40 rooms, all to be refurbished to celebrate and enhance the history of the building, while injecting a fresh, inviting, and modern touch.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/listing/hotel-du-vin-%26-bistro/2809101/
De Vere Tortworth Court – Hotel refurbishment
Spring 2025
Set in stunning grounds on the northern outskirts of Bristol/south Cotswolds, De Vere Tortworth Court is a Victorian mansion hotel and has announced a £1.3million investment in upgrading 53 of its Courtyard Bedrooms. Set to be complete in spring 2025, the rooms will offer relaxed and contemporary design with views of the hotel’s grounds, and follow the refurbishment of the Library Bar, 1853 Restaurant and addition of 55 new Mansion House Rooms.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/listing/de-vere-tortworth-court/214327301/
Holiday Inn Airport and Holiday Inn Bristol Filton reopening
Late 2024 and Spring 2025
The recently reopened and newly-refurbished Holiday Inn at Bristol Airport is conveniently located for people flying into and out of Bristol. As well as an on site car park, there is an EV Airport Shuttle bus and 24 hour room service for if you have a very early or late flight. Holiday Inn Filton is reopening in spring 2025 with newly refurbished rooms as well as its swimming pool, sauna and fishing lake on site.
https://visitbristol.co.uk/listing/holiday-inn-bristol-filton/24101/
Sustainability News
2025 marks ten years since Bristol was the first UK city to be awarded European Green Capital Status in 2015. For information on the legacy of this status and how Bristol has pushed itself and progressed in its sustainability (including being the UK’s second Gold Sustainable Food City, the first Cycling City, Bristol is also a Fairtrade City and is home to renowned environmental organisations like Soil Association and sustainable transport charity, Sustrans), check the Sustainability section on Visit Bristol website. Here you will see information on sustainable activities to do in the city, hotels given Green Tourism accreditation and green transport, including the NEW initiative by Bristol Packet Boat tours which has converted its Redshank boat to use electric propulsion and introduced a zero-emissions boat, Hydrogenisis as the first hydrogen-powered boat in the UK.
Anniversaries
Bristol’s interactive science centre We the Curious is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025 and while details are to be announced, we are expecting events to take place in and around the Old City in November 2025 to mark the 85-year commemoration of the Bristol Blitz (information to follow). Neighbouring city Bath (which is a 12-minute train ride from Bristol) will be one of the cities celebrating Austen 250 – the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth – in 2025, and with the much-loved TV adaptation of Austen’s Sanditon being part-filmed in and around Bristol, we expect fans of the author to visit the filming locations to mark this significant anniversary year. Arnolfini – a centre for international contemporary arts – is celebrating its 50th anniversary in its building on Bristol’s Harbourside in 2025 (more information to follow), and nearby Bristol Aquarium is also celebrating an important 15 year anniversary in 2025, with events to be announced. In February 2025, silent and visual comedy event Slapstick Festival is marking its 20th anniversary with events featuring Harry Enfield, Martin Freeman and many other guests.
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